You don't need any fancy equipment to start; just mix 10 to 15 drops of the pure peppermint essential oil with water in a spray bottle. (You can also use other kinds of mint essential oil as they'll also contain menthone.)
Diluting a few drops of peppermint oil with water and spraying it on walls or on cotton balls that you place throughout your home could effectively repel roaches. You add 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water for a stronger solution.
Try mixing a few drops of peppermint oil with some hot water and place it in a spray bottle. A good ratio is 5 to 10 drops of essential oil per ounce of water. Use the mixture to spray down countertops, furniture, curtains and blinds and hard-to-reach areas of the home where insects are often present.
Peppermint oil has been used for decades as a potent cockroach repellent and killer. Studies confirm peppermint's incredible insect control capabilities.
Many homeowners report that roaches don't like tea tree oil. You can combine 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water with a few drops of tea tree oil and apply the mixture with a spray bottle to deter cockroaches from specific areas.
Your best bet is to combine baking soda with another granulated attractant, like sugar. Mix equal parts baking soda and sugar in a small dish and apply it to kitchen cabinets, baseboards, crevices, water sources, and other places roaches like to hide.
Simply mix three parts Borax to one part sugar for bait, and be sure to keep your pets out of the vicinity. Sprinkle your mixture in places you've seen roaches to keep them at bay. This diatomaceous earth comes in a handy puffer bottle, perfect for getting into cracks and crevices.
Sprinkle boric acid in areas the roaches frequent; when they walk through it, it sticks to them. They later ingest the boric acid, which then kills them. When using boric acid, be sure to limit your exposure; don't place it anywhere that children or pets might find it, as it's toxic when ingested.
It's not exactly clear why, but bugs — such as mosquitos — find this scent super offensive. One study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine found that applying peppermint oil on just one arm of a participant, protected both of his or her arms from mosquito bites for up to 150 minutes.
For hot drinks: Boil a cup of hot water and pour it into a mug. Mix in two to three drops of peppermint oil and drink. For cold drinks: Pour yourself a glass of cold water and mix in one drop of peppermint oil to create a calorie-free, thirst-quenching drink.
We recommend starting out using Peppermint diluted 1:4 with a carrier oil. If you want to use it undiluted, do a patch test of 1 drop to see how it feels on your skin. If you experience a reaction to the oil, dilute the oil with a 1:4 ratio of carrier oil and try another patch test.
Roach Repellents
Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Smells that roaches hate: a quickfire summary
Oregano, rosemary, mint, eucalyptus, lemongrass and catnip are great herby options. Citrus oils work brilliantly too. And surprisingly, lower concentrations – 2.5 parts per hundred – seem to work best as deterrents. Just don't bother with lavender.
Oregano Oil
They're not only effective at driving cockroaches back, but generally safe to use around food and food prep surfaces. The National Institute of Health (NIH) evaluated five popular oil compounds — eucalyptus, mint, yarrow, oregano and rosemary — and found oregano oil the most effective and longest-lasting.
The biggest issue with using essential oils is they evaporate quickly. They are not as effective as DEET or picaridin. Repellents are meant to block an insect's receptors related to the scent but with essential oils, only a few receptors are blocked. Therefore it is possible it may work on some insects but not all.
Peppermint essential oil might just be the holy grail of natural pest repellents to leave around your home's entry points, as it can help keep away ticks, spiders, roaches, moths, flies, fleas, beetles, and ants. Use sachets of this oil near your doors and windows or try making a diffuser or spray.
One popular DIY method is to mix boric acid with equal parts powdered sugar as a lure. Apply as a fine layer under appliances, behind cabinets and along crevices. Roaches ingest the mixture and die within a few hours.
Sprinkle the diatomaceous earth around areas where roaches travel and frequent. The sharp particles of diatomaceous earth damage the waxy, protective exoskeleton of the roach, causing it to dehydrate and die, typically within 48 hours of contact.
Home remedies like diatomaceous earth, baking soda, boric acid, citrus, essential oils, and borax can be effective ways to get rid of roaches. If you want to take a more aggressive approach to eliminate roaches, glue traps, bait stations, and liquid roach deterrent concentrates are all excellent options.